Operation of a motor vehicle anywhere in the world has become increasingly hazardous with the advent of the smaller, faster cars in combination with the larger cars, SUV's, small trucks, large trucks and other motor vehicles that have to be on the roads today. The act of policing and controlling the increasing volume of vehicles on the road has become a monumental task. Only through the aide of computers and computer aided emergency vehicles could the task of monitoring and identifying ever increasing numbers and types of motor vehicles be possible. Emergency vehicles including police cars, emergency medical service vehicles and fire fighting vehicles require short response times to be more effective. Such response times require that emergency vehicles proceed through traffic and intersections with great haste. Commonly, the only knowledge private vehicle operators have of a visually identifiable emergency vehicle is the flashing lights and siren. When the emergency vehicle is not visible to other drivers, the only hint to their presence is conventionally the sound of a siren. Such sounds can be deceiving as to the direction of travel and location of the emergency vehicle due to the bounce effect in cities and due to the potential of multiple emergency vehicles traveling in diverse directions to the same destination.
If the operator of a privately owned vehicle has early knowledge of approaching emergency vehicles, the threat of an accident decreases and the effectiveness of the emergency personnel in timely reaching their destination increases. All emergency services recognize this fact and most people consider response time when talking about public safety and living conditions in an area. Systems currently in place use a combination of audio and video stimuli to notify the surrounding vehicle traffic of approaching emergency vehicle traffic. These systems are hampered by many conditions; rain, fog, wind, speed of the vehicles and traffic conditions. Also the audio/video alert system, or siren, has to compete for the private vehicle operator's attention by overcoming the car stereo system or the talking passengers or the cell phone. One might also consider modern soundproofing of vehicles blocking noise exterior to the cabin interior to be detrimental to the effectiveness of sirens. This coupled with the fact that many drivers just don't pay attention to adjacent street traffic and their rear view mirror while driving is a further detriment to recognition of approaching emergency vehicles.
As noted, emergency vehicles approaching intersections depend upon sirens, horns, bells, or other types of audible and/or visible warning devices to alert other people of their presence especially in the area of the intersection of two or more roads. This has not always proven to be a completely successful technique with emergency vehicles, though it is still the standard mode of operation today. Unfortunately accidents involving emergency vehicles often occur at intersections due to confusion, impaired hearing, inattention, noise conditions or overly aggressive drivers seeking to clear the intersection before the arrival of the emergency vehicles. Very dangerous problems are often caused when multiple emergency vehicles are approaching the same intersection and cannot hear each others siren because of their own.
In 2000 1.2 million cars were stolen in the U.S. Sixty-two percent of the stolen vehicles were recovered but most of those had received damage. The thieves target late model popular cars for the parts and resale value. The cost of replacing or repairing stolen vehicles is a huge burden upon the insurance industry and ultimately upon all drivers. By stopping theft and recovering stolen vehicles quickly crime is mitigated and insurance rates decrease.
Ever since the terrorist attacks of Sep. 11, 2001 the Department of Homeland Security has been trying to pre-empt any further attacks. Part of accomplishing this is identifying possible terrorists and monitoring their actions for suspicious activity which may indicate attack planning. By being able to easily monitor suspect vehicles the Department of Homeland Security becomes more efficient and the terrorist threat is diminished.
Cameras have been used to monitor parking lots for years. They are used to identify thieves and criminals as they leave the seen of the crime. Often criminals are able to thwart the cameras by altering or covering their license plates. By being able to accurately identify vehicles in parking lots, criminals are more easily apprehended since they may be associated with individual vehicles captured on the camera and stolen vehicles recovered since they are easily uniquely identified.
This device and method herein disclosed describes a new and unique system designed to decrease the response time of emergency vehicles, increase the safety of surrounding private vehicles, both of which will result in the saving of many lives. While decreasing the response time of emergency vehicles is important, this system has many operational characteristics that could also be employed for the security and defense of the general public.